Tl 



HE GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY; 



T'S FOUNDERS, PATRONS, AND FRIENDS. 



ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



DELIVERED IN 



HODGSON HALL, 



0?i tlui IdtJh of FehriiCLi-y, 1881 



CHARLES C. JONES, Jr., L. L. D. 







SAVANNAH. GEORGIA. 
1881. 



Augusta, Georgia. 



^ ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



HODGSON HALL, 



ON THE 14th OF FEBRUARY, 1881. 



BY 

/ 
CHARLES C. JONES, Jr., L. L. D. 



" Deposited upon the siteiit shore 

Of Memory, images and precious thoughts 
That shall not die, and cannot be destroyed.''' 



PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 
1881. 



'7^ 



J. H. ESTILL, PEINTER, 

SAVANNAH, GA. 



Georgia. Historical Society, 

Savannah, March 9th, 1881. 
Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr., 

Augusta, Georgia. 
Dear Sir — I take great pleasure in informing you that 
at the Regular Monthly Meeting of the Georgia Historical 
Society, held last Monday eveniag, the following Resolutions 
were unanimously adojited : 

" Resolved that our thanks are due and are hereby cor- 
dially tendered to Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr., for his very 
able and eloquent address, — eminently discriminating and 
truly historioalj^delivered before the Georgia Historical 
Society at its Anniversary on February 14th, 1881. 

Resolved that Col Jones be requested to furnish a copy 
of this address for publication by the Society, and that 
we will preserve with pride and satisfaction this well 
marited tribute to the valuable labors and exalted character 
of our founders and predecessors." 

I remain very respectfally yours, 

W. Grayson Mann, 
Cor. Sec. Geo. Hist. Society. 



ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 



3Ir. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen : 

As children of the past and parents of the future, it 
appears eminently proper that we should, at stated inter- 
vals, pause for a brief hour in the hurrying march of 
time which will soon bear us hence, that we may call 
to remembrance our peculiar inheritance, carefully esti- 
mate our present belongings, and form at least a proxi- 
mate conception of what our legacies will be. 

In responding to the invitation which brings me into 
your gracious presence this evening, it has occurred to 
me that I cannot better fulfill the expectations of this 
Anniversary occasion than by reminding you of those 
who were the founders, patrons, and special friends of 
this Society, and by reviewing what has already been 
accomplished by our Institution in the exercise of its 
legitimate functions. Thus will we the more surely 
comprehend the position we now occup}-, understand the 
meed to which we are entitled, and gather fresh courage 
for the discharge of the duties which lie before us. 

Forty-two years have elapsed since the organization, in 
our midst, of the Georgia Historical Society. Have you 
forgotten the officers selected to give nascent tone, char- 
acter, and impulse to the Institution? Let me name 
them. 

JoHN McPherson Berrien, — President, — born before the 
independence of these United States had been acknow- 
ledged, — a graduate of Princeton College when only a lad 
of fifteen, — then a pupil of the honorable Joseph Clay, — 



called to the Bar while still a minor, — at an early age 
Solicitor of the Eastern Circuit, — when not thirty years 
old Judge of the Superior Courts of the Eastern Dis- 
trict, — a Major of Cavalry in the war of 1812-15, — 
State Senator in 1822, — occupying a seat in the Senate 
of the United States in 1825, — four years afterwards 
Attorney General of the United States, — again a Senator 
from Georgia in 1811 and 1847, — filling other prominent 
positions within the gift of his fellow-citizens proud of 
his culture, probity, attainments, and ability, — the most 
accomplished lawyer Georgia ever gave to a court-room 
State or Federal, — thoroughly versed in the "nice, sharp 
(juillets of the law," yet demonstrating at all times, by 
act and argument, that law was indeed, as my Lord 
Coke would have it, " the perfection of reason," — acquainted 
with the traditions of his people local and national, — a 
type of the exact scholar and thorough gentleman ; 

James Moore Wayne, — Yice President, — another son of 
Nassau Hall,— a favorite pupil of John Y. Noel, Judge 
Chauncey, and of Richard M. Stites, — in turn Judge of 
the Superior Courts of the Eastern District, member 
of Congress, and an Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, — a model of manly beauty, 
and a Chesterfield in deportment ; 

Matthew Hatj:. McAllister, — Vice President, — a genial 
companion, — a famous advocate, — and, toAvard the evening 
of his life, elevated to the Bench as Federal Judge for 
the District of California ; 

Israel K. Tefft, — Corresponding Secretary, — an ardent 
devotee of the past, — a famous collector of autograph- 
letters and historical documents, especially of such as 
illustrated our Revolutionary period, — looking upon the 
time-stained paper whereon some famous hand had writ 



" With greater love than the self-lov'd Narcissus 
Did on his beauty," — 

tlie fons et origo of the Society ; 

George W. Hustter, — Treasurer, — managing with care 
the slender finances of the Institution ; 

Henry K. Preston, — Librarian, — acquainted with books 
and of scholarly tastes ; 

William Thorne Williams, always active in measures 
which had for their object the promotion of education 
and the amelioration of the intellectual status of the 
community, — a Captain of the Chatham Artillery in the 
war of 1812, — and, during a long life, a lover and pub- 
lisher of books ; 

Charles S. Henry, — lawyer, Judge, and urbane gen- 
tleman ; 

John C. Nicoll, of Roman virtue, exact habit, and most 
retentive memory, — careful in noting the passing event, — 
a walking encyclopyedia, — full of calm thought, — much 
given to patient investigation, and executing his office of 
District Judge with a firmness, ability, and erudition 
worthy of all commendation ; 

William Law, — than whom no more courteous gentle- 
man, eloquent advocate, profound jurist, and fair-minded 
Judge ever adorned Society and maintained the standard 
of true excellenc}^ in this beautiful City of Oglethorpe ; 

Robert M. Charlton, — counsellor, advocate, Judge, poet, 
essayist, friend, — the mention of whose name revivifies 
the electric chain which binds us to all that is pure in 
life, sweet in companionship, and undefiled in thought and 
act ; 

Alexander A. Smets, — successful merchant, citizen of 
public spirit, and bibliophile of unusual knowledge,— in 
constant communion with books, and surrounding him' 



self with much that was choice and rare iu the world 
of letters ; 

William Bacon Stevens, — energetic and earnest, — eager 
to familiarize himself with the men and events reflecting 
distinction upon his adopted State, — a professor of belles 
lettres and history in the University of Georgia, — and, 
at a later period, Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania ; 

and last, but not least, Richard D. Arnold, whose 
name and fame and loves are intimatel}'^ associated with 
the annals of this City and Society, — the skillful physi- 
cian, — the generous friend, — given to profuse and refined 
hospitality, — the honored Mayor and trusted legislator, — - 
foremost in everj^ good w'ork which could enure to the 
material benefit and civilization of Savannah, — the life 
and soul of every public convocation, — a Luttrell among 
wits, — a ministering angel when the shadows of want 
and pestilence darkened tiiese streets, — of excellent liter- 
ary taste, — and possessing a memory as tenacious of 
incidents, characters, and letters, as though they had 
been graven with a diamond's point upon a tablet of 
agate : — these were they who, in 1839, were selected as 
the first officers of the Georgia Historical Society. 
Surely, from out the entire circuit of this community 
none more competent or trustworthy could have been 
chosen. 

Fifty years have not yet elapsed and, with a single 
exception, all are numbcrtHl with the dead. So like to 
a short summer is hunum life. 

Of the original Resident Members of the Society one 
may not enumerate more than fourteen now in being, 
and most of them are rapidly hastening onward to that 
extreme verge beyond which it is not permitted the 
children of men to linger. 



9 

Such is the sad side of the retrospect which the 
recurrence of this Anniversary suggests. And yet, apart 
from the sorrow which the demise of the good, the use- 
ful, and the loved always causes, there is nothing unusual 
in the fact that upon the flight of these two score 
years and more we should be forcibly reminded of the 
operation of that inexorable law 

"All that lives must die, 
Passing through nature to eternitj'. " 

Although these founders of our Society have been gath- 
ered to their fathers, the temple which they planned sur- 
vives, and subsequent years have strengthened its walls 
and enriched its porches. The purpose they conceived 
found encouragement at the hands of those who came 
after them. The charities of the benevolent and the 
intellectual gravitated hitherward, and thus has it come 
to pass that within the fair borders of this charming 
City there exists no more attractive edifice, no retreat 
more seductive, no more cultured resort than Hodgson 
Hall. Long may this institution remain the pride of 
Savannah and the honor of Georgia. 

At the date of the inception of the Georgia Historical 
Society, — aside from tracts encouraging the foundation of 
the Colony and furnishing accounts of its development 
under the guidance of the Trustees and during the early 
years of its existence, — but two histories of Georgia had 
been published. 

There appeared in London, in 1779, anonymously, but, 
as we now know, from the pen of the Reverend Alexan- 
der Hewatt, — a Presbyterian Clergyman and a former resi- 
dent of Charleston, — who had departed thence when he 
perceived that an open rupture between the Crown and 



10 

the Tliirleen Colonies in North America was imminent, — 
two octavo vohimes entitled " An Historical Account of 
the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and 
Georgia." While in this work the Colonial history of 
Georgia is narrated at some length, the attention of the 
author was chiefly occupied with a recital of events con- 
nected with the establishment and growth of the Colony 
of South Carolina. His labors ended with the dawn of 
the Eevolution : and this histor3\ — then long out of 
print, — was inaccessible to the general reader. 

Soon after the formation of the General Government 
Mr. Edward Langworthy, — at first a pupil and then a 
teaclier at Whitefield's Orphan House, afterwards an 
enthusiastic "Liberty Boy," Secretary of the Provincial 
Congress of Georgia, and one of the early representa- 
tives from Georgia in the Congress of the Confederated 
States, — formed the design of writing a history of this 
State. Of fair attainments, and personally acquainted 
with the leading men and transactions of the period, he 
was well qualified for the task, and addressed himself 
with energy to the collection of materials requisite for 
the undertaking. It would appear, from a published 
prospectus of the work printed in the Georgia Gazette, 
that this history was actually written. Suitable encour- 
agement however, not having been encountered, the con- 
templated publication was never made. Mr. Langworthv 
died at Elkton, in Maryland, early in the present cen- 
tury, and all efforts to recover both his manuscript and 
the supporting documents which he had amassed have 
thus far proved utterly abortive. 

From the press of Seymour and Williams of Savannah 
was issued, in 1811, the first volume of Major Hugh 
McCall's "History of Georgia/' and this was followed, 



11 

in 1816, by the second volume, published by William 
Thome Williams. Oppressed by phj-sioal infirmities, and 
a martyr to the effects of the exposures and dangers 
experienced as an officer in the army of the Revolu- 
tion, — now confined to his couch, — again, a helpless crip- 
ple, locomoting in an easy chair upon wheels, — dependent 
for a livelihood upon the salary paid him as City Jailor, — 
often wholly interrupted in his labors, — and then, during 
intervals of pain, writing with his portfolio resting upon his 
knees,— without the preliminary education requisite for 
the scholarly accomplishment of such a serious under- 
taking, and yet fired with patriotic zeal and anxious to 
wrest from impending ol>livion the fading traditions of 
the State he loved so well and whose independence he 
had imperiled everything to secure, — Major McCall, in 
the end, compassed a narrative which we all prize and 
which, in its recital of events connected with our Eevo- 
lutionary period and the part borne by Georgians in 
that memorable struggle, is invaluable. There hangs his 
portrait. This hall is dignified by its presence. We 
salute it with honor and gratitude : and, speaking for 
the living in the face of the dead, we applaud alike 
his services in the cause of freedom and his labors 
with his pen when his sword had been sheathed in 
Adctory. Whatever may hereafter be achieved by the his- 
torians of Georgia during the long and, we trust, pros- 
perous years which are in store for our grand old Com- 
monwealth, to him mvist they till come at last for the 
fullest accounts of the perils and the ]>rivatious, the 
affairs and the incidents of our primal Revolution. 

Appreciating the propriety, nay, the necessity of col- 
lecting, arranging and pubUshing all papers relating to 
the settlement and political history of this State, the 



12 

Legislature, in 1824, designated Mr. Joseph V. Bevau as 
a suitable person to perform this important task, and 
made an appropriation in partial defrayal of the expenses 
incident to the undertaking. It was understood, at the 
time, that Mr. Bevan was in possession of some interest- 
ing reports, documents, communications, and other manu- 
scripts which were to be utilized in that behalf. His 
early death terminated the enterprise, and no one is 
advised of the fate which overtook his collections. They 
have seemingly been lost beyond recovery. 

In December, 1837, the General Assembly of Georgia 
empowered the Governor to select a competent party 
whose duty it should be, in behalf of the State, to repair 
to London and there procure, from the Government offices, 
copies of all records appertaining to the settlement and 
Colonial life of Georgia. The Eeverend Charles Wallace 
Howard was entrusted with the execution of this mis- 
sion. He returned with copies of letters and documents 
filling twenty-two folio volumes. Fifteen were taken from 
the originals on file in the Office of the Board of 
Trade : six from those in the custody of the State-Paper 
Office, and the remaining one from documents forming a 
part of the King's Library. The material thus secured 
has been but jjarfcially utilized, and will prove of value 
to the future historian. 

Such Avas the progress made in the preparation of a 
general history of Georgia, such the effort to collect 
original matter, and such were the failures which had 
occurred at the time when it entered into the minds of 
leading citizens in Savannah to organize this Society. 
Its avowed object was the collection, preservation, and 
diffusion of information relating to the history of Georgia 
in all its various dej)artments. To that end its officers 



13 

and members, with a zeal worthy of all commendation, by 
correspondence, circular, contribution, purchase and petition 
concentrated as rapidly as they could in the library of the 
Institution all printed and manuscript matter within the 
range of present possibility. 

Eightly discerning that it was their immediate mission 
to garner np the materials and entrust to the future his- 
torian their proper arrangement and utilization, the foun- 
ders of this Society, at the outset, disclaimed all design 
of writing a history of the State. So earnest was the 
Society in the prosecution of its mission, and so eager to 
offer palpable evidence of its vitality, and to assert a 
right to honorable companionship in the sisterhood of 
kindred institutions, that in the second year of its existence 
it printed its first volume of Collections. A valuable and 
interesting publication it is, containing Judge Law's mas- 
terly oration upon the celebration of its first anniversary, — ■ 
reprints of Oglethorpe's " New and accurate Account of t/ie 
Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia," — Francis Moore's 
" Voyage to Georgia, begun in the year 1735." — Benjamin 
Martyn's ^^ Impart led Inquiry into the State and Utility of 
the Province of Georgia,'' — -and his " Beasons for estahlisliing 
the Colony of Georgia vntli regard to the Trade of Great 
Britain," etc., — and the honorable Thomas Sjjalding's 
"Sketch of the Life of General James Oglethojye." 

It is not an exaggeration to affirm that this first contri- 
bution of our cherished Society will compare favorably 
with the transactions of any kindred society within the 
wide borders of this land. And the second, — -given to the 
public two years afterwards, — was like unto it in historical 
value and genuine interest. Listen to its contents : — A 
discourse, by Dr. William Bacon Stevens, on early events 
connected with the Revolution in Georgia, — and reprints of 



u 

"A New Voyage to Georgia,'' c^c.—" A Curious Account of 
the Indians, by an honorable 'person,''—" Poems to the 
honorable James Oglethorpe,"— " A State of the Prov- 
ince of Georgia attested upon oath in the Court of 
Savannah, November IMt, 1710,"—" A Brief Account of the 
Causes that have retarded the Progress of the Colony of 
Georgia in America, dc, — "A True and Historical Narra- 
tive of the Colony of Georgia in America, etc., by Pat 
Tailfer, M. D., Hugh Anderson, 31. A., Ha Houglas, and 
others," — and " An Account showing the Progress of the 
Colony of Georgia in America from its First Establish- 
ment." 

In 1848 appeared Part First of tlie third volume of the 
Collections of this Society. The resources of the Institu- 
tion having been anticipated by the erection of a Library 
and Historical Hall, the superintendence and charge of 
this publication were generously undertaken and borne by 
an accomplished gentleman and finished scholar whose 
friendship for our Association was always conspicuous, and 
whose culture and reputation exerted a reflex influence 
most honorable and propitious. There is his speaking 
image, and we stand in the beautiful Hall consecrated b}' 
loving hearts to his memory. Five years agone, upon the 
dedication of this tasteful edifice — so commodious, and so 
appropriate in all its appointments — and upon the unveil- 
ing of this admirable portrait, there fell from the lips of 
our distinguished President * a eulogium most fit upon the 
life and literary labors of the honorable I^^illiam B. 
Hodgson. It was a tribute which only genius and poetry 
and eloquence could render to the erudite scholar and the 
man of letters who revelled in the picturesque learning of 
the Orient. 

*Hon. Henry 11. Jackson. 



15 

The Tolume to which we alhide is a publication of the 
oi'iginal manuscript of Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, entitled 
"A Sketch of the Greek Country in 1798 and 1799." Con- 
veying a correct impression of the manners, characteris- 
tics, customs, and settlements of the famous Muscogulgee 
Confederacy, and portraying with remarkable fidelity the 
physical peculiarities of the territory then occupied by the 
Creek Indians, its value cannot well be overestimated. 
The observations of this Beloved Man of the Four Nations, — 
as Colonel Hawkins is appropriately styled by Mr. Galla- 
tin — are reckoned of the highest authority. They are so 
regarded by all who have of late investigated the subjects 
of which he treats. 

As early as March, 1841, the Society invited Dr. Wil- 
liam Bacon Stevens to undertake, under its auspices, the 
preparation of a new and complete history of Georgia. 
Liberal aid was extended to him in the prosecution of 
this important labor which eventuated in the publication 
of two octavo volumes, — one in 1847 and the other in 
1859. The author concludes his history with the adop- 
tion of the Constitution of 1798. It is perhaps not 
ungracious to add that this work, partial in its scope, did 
not gratify public expectation. It has encountered severe 
criticism, and does not appear to have commended itself 
to general favor. 

For nearly eight years after its organization our Associ- 
ation possessed no building of its own ; but, through the 
courtesy of the Savannah Library Society, was permitted 
to occupy its rooms as a place of convocation. In 1847 
there occurred a practical consolidation of these institu- 
tions, and two years subsequently the Georgia Historical 
Society found a convenient abiding place in the edifice 
which had been erected for its accommodation on Bryan 



16 

Street, opposite the Bank of the State of Georgia. The 
Hbrarv of the Savannah Library Society was merged into' 
that of the Georgia Historical Society, and thus were the 
hterary attractions of onr Association enhanced by the 
addition of some twenty-five hundred vokimes. 

Through the generosity of one of Savannah's distiguished 
sons, — Dk. James P. Sceeven, — a habiUty incurred in the 
erection of our hall was, in 1852, discharged, and the 
Society liberated from debt. Pleasant, but without special 
mark, were the regular meetings and social gatherings of 
the Societ}' in this edifice. Our library slowly increased 
and our Association maintained its integrity ; but, for 
nearly ten years, it gave no valuable token of vitalit3^ 

Then came the exciting days of the Confederate Revo- 
lution when the entire manhood of our beleaguered land 
was in arms in defense of home and country and right, — 
when the thoughts and capabilities of our people were 
enlisted in a gigantic struggle for independence, — when 
an enveloping blockade shut out from us the current 
literature of the world and suspended communication 
with sister institutions, — when our local presses were 
mainly employed in multiplying military orders, in print- 
ing works upon the art of war, and in responding to 
the needs of our isolated Confederacy bravely asserting 
her claim to a recognition in the sisterhood of nations. 
It was emphatically a period of the sternest trial, of 
action the most heroic, of incidents all absorbing, and 
of perils beyond enumeration. No wonder then, when 
the thunders of aggressive and relentless war were heard 
evervwhere within our borders and our whole people were 
wrestling so bravely for the retention of the land they 
loved, that our Society did little more than preserve its 
organization, abiding the return of that day when, — the 



17 

graver and holier , duties of the patriot discharged, — the 
survivors of the Revokitiou might return to the peaceful 
paths of literature and unite in the conservation of the 
memories of the past. 

The war did end, but it left us a region filled with 
mourning. Sorrow, penury, disappointment and ashes 
were the common heritage, and in the general gloom 
which encompassed all there shone scarce a single star of 
substantial promise. 

In this dark hour when the sufferings of the present 
were sadly commingled with the uncertainties of the 
future, — when amid the wreck of fortunes, established 
institutions, and government itself, there appeared little 
room for aught else save a struggle for daily bread, — when 
the will of the conqueror was the supreme law, and on 
every hand the lamentation of "Rachel, weeping for her 
children " and refusing to be comforted because they were 
not, w,as blended with the voices of despair and the 
sounds of apprehension, — when amid the disquietudes of 
the moment the obligations of former times were disre- 
garded, — when light and hope and literature were still 
discolored by the overmastering glare of disastrous war, — - 
when the hearts of men, turned aside from intellectual 
effort and the pursuits of literature, were busied with 
the exactions of practical lil'e, — when our Society of 
necessity languished, — were heard in our midst the in- 
spiring tones of one, our newly elected President, — the 
Eight • Reverend Stephen Elliott, D, D., of blessed 
memory, — pleading for a revival of the literary sjjirit in 
our community, extolling the advantages of a public 
library of choice selection and liberal proportions, encour- 
aging our members to renewed efforts in behalf of the 
Society, and bespeaking for it the countenance and 
2 



18 

cooperation of tlie wise, the intelligent, and the good. 
The address which he deUvered, in February 1866, hope- 
ful in spirit, wise in counsel, and far-reaching in design, 
was most potent and beneficial in its efifect. Under his 
guidance, and inspired by his example, our Society 
awoke from the depression engendered by universal dis- 
aster. A fresh impetus was given to its deliberations, 
its membership, its exertions, which the succeeding years 
have not failed to appreciate. Precious indeed is the 
memory which abides with us of this Godly man and of 
the influence he exerted in our behalf and in favor of 
all that was true, beautiful, and ennobling. 

'"He was a scholar and a ripe and a good one; 

Exceedinsi; wise, fair-spoken, and persuading: 

* * * -x- 

* to those men that sought him, sweet as summer." 

Reverently do we turn to that speaking canvas which 
reflects the commanding image of him who was to us an 
exponent of the highest type of Southern civilization, — 
the paragon of all that was courtly in mien, cultured 
in thought and act, attractive in intellect, generous in 
impulse, eloquent in utterance, sympathetic in emotion, 
exalted in example, pure in conduct, elevating in com- 
panionship, and holy in office. Gratefully do we recall 
his manly virtues and recollect his saintly ministrations. 
To him are we indebted for labors abundant and influ- 
ential in the cause of truth, education, and intellectual 
progress at an epoch of unusual stagnation in social and 
literary life. 

During the ensuing six years our Society evinced marked 
signs of substantial advancement in usefulness and influ- 
ence. Its library was steadily and judiciously augmented, 
and a change of location for the convenience of readers 



19 

and the more suitable accommodation of its volumes was, 
in the Spring of 1871, made to Armory Hall. 

The same year, during the presidency of the Honorable 
Edward J. Harden, whose love for his native Georgia, 
familiarity with her annals, and affection for this Institu- 
tion, are so well remembered by us all, the Society gave 
to the public another proof of its vitality in. an interest- 
ing and handsomely printed brochure entitled " Jn Authen- 
tic Account of the Origin, Mystery and, Explanation of Hon. 
Richard Henry Wilde's alleged placjiarism of The Lament 
of the Captive.'''' The preparation of this attractive little 
volume chiefly devolved upon the late Anthony Barclay, 
Esqr., whose scholarly attainments amply fitted him for 
the perpetration of the literary pleasantry which, for a 
season, caused no little mystification and even induced 
the gifted author of " M}^ life is like the Summer Rose " 
to publicly deny the suggested pillage from Alcseus. By 
this contribution the Society has linked its name with 
one of the sweetest poems ever uttered by mortal lijDS, 

In this hurried review we would prove recreant to 
the memories of the past did we omit a becoming al- 
lusion to the amiable character, the literarj- attainments, 
and the valuable influence of the Honorable Edward 
Jenkins Harden, one of our most devoted and accom- 
plished Presidents. To him are we beholden for serv- 
ices the most intelligent and efforts the most untiring. 
It was ever his pleasure to foster all schemes which 
ameliorated the condition and promoted the honor and 
the usefulness of our Institution. Of scholarly tastes 
and liberal education,— always intent upon the cultiva- 
tion of letters and the encouragement of intellectual 
effort, — a careful student of Georgia history, and noted 
for his accurate acquaintance with the lives of persons 



20 

and tlie philosophy of events remarkable in the chron- 
icles of this Commonwealth,— of genial temper, social 
habit, and uncompromising' integrity, — an upright and 
just Judge, — a counselor wise, prudent, and reliable,— 
an earnest and capable advocate,— as a companion, 
abounding in friendship, fidelity, and urbanity,— and, as 
an office-bearer in the Church of Christ, faithful and 
consistent, — the savor of his good name abides as a 
pleasant heritage with us. In the language of another: 
"His private life Avas universally acknowledged to have 
been pure and virtuous. Few men die who can carry, 
as Ave believe he did, to the tribunal of the Almighty 
the record of a heart so free from guile, and of a con- 
science so void of offense toward God and toward man." 
Of his literary footprints the most abiding is his Life 
of Governor George 31. Trowp. Already has this So- 
ciety, by an In 3femoriam Tract printed shortly after 
his death, given public expression to the general appre- 
ciation of the great loss sustained in the demise of 
this our friend and President. 

Having, in 1871, through the generous and personal 
intervention of Mr. George Wymberley-Jones DeRenne, of 
Savannah, become possessed of accurate copies, from the 
British Colonial Office, of the letters of General Oglethorpe 
to the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia, commencing on 
tlie 29th of October, 1735, and ending with the 24tli of 
August, 1744:, and also of the letters of Sir James Wright, — 
the third and last Roj^al Governor of the Province, — 
addressed to the Earl of Dartmouth and Lord George 
Germain, — Secretaries of State, — and to other prominent 
parties in England, in which he narrates with great 
minuteness and fidelity from the stand-point of a loyal 
servant of his Majesty King George III. the local events 



21 

which transpired during our Revohitionar\^ period, the 
Georgia Historical Society gave pubHcity to them in the 
third vohira-e of its Collections. That volume also con- 
tains a Report on the condition of the Province of 
Georgia made by Governor Wright, in 1772, in reply to 
specific inquiries propounded by the Earl of Dartmouth, — 
kindly furnished by Mr. DeRenne, — an Anniversary Ad- 
dress, by the Speaker, upon the life and services of 
Count Pulaski, and a historical address by Dr. Richard D. 
Arnold. Of the value of this contribution I need only 
say that it would be impossible to specify documents of 
higher import, illustrative of the early life and conduct 
of the Colony, than those spread upon its pages. 

And here, my friends, permit me to pause in this nar- 
rative to place a memorial wreath upon the new-n ade 
grave of one who, since our last annual meeting, has loft 
our companionship and fallen on sleep. He was at one 
time our President, and always the firm friend and gener- 
ous patron of this Societv. His interest in the genuine 
welfare of this Institution will probably never be com- 
prehended in all its scope and various manifestations, — an 
interest which induced him to institute exhaustive research 
among, and acquire privileged access to, the Public Records 
in London that they might give up their hidden treasures 
in illustration of the history of Georgia and in furtherance 
of the reputation of our Association, — an interest which 
led to munificent gifts in multiplying the collections and 
publications of this Society, — an intelligent interest which 
assisted in shaping its conduct and administration, — an 
interest most prevailing, which, if I mistake not, had 
much to do with rounding into absolute symmetry and 
giving happy expression to the magnificent charities of 
those noble Sisters to whose liberality we are indebted 



22 

for this spacious bnildinp^ and for that other foundation 
which, in due season, will develop into an Academy op 
Arts and Sciences the like of which has never existed 
within the limits of this State. Grievous indeed has 
been our loss, and sincerely do we lament the demise of 
such a friend, counselor, and patron. 

Although born in the City of Philadelphia on the 19th 
of July, 1827, Mr. George Wymberley- Jones DeRenne 
was, in every thought and emotion, a Georgian most 
loyal. In the paternal line he was the direct descendant. 
of Captain Noble Jones, — the trusted lieutenant of Ogle- 
thorpe, — whose watchful eye and brave sword were ever 
instant for the protection of the infant colony against the 
encroachments of the jealous Spaniards and the incur- 
sions of the restless Indians. Oar early records are 
rendered illustrious by the valor, circumspection, and cool 
daring which he exhibited on various occasions of doubt 
and danger. 

Among the patiiot names shedding lustre upon the 
period when our people were engaged in the effort to rid 
themselves of Kingly rule, none in Georgia was more con- 
spicuous for purity of purpose, wisdom of counsel, and 
fearlessness in action than that of the honorable Nolle 
Wymberley Jones, the grand-father of Mr. DeRenne. 
Speaker of the Provincial Legislature at a time when it 
was no light matter to incur the displeasure of a Royal 
Govenior, arrested and confined because of his sympathy 
with the Revolutionists, and, upon the termination of the 
war, selected a Representative from Georgia in the Con- 
tinental Congress, as physician, legislator, patriot, citizen, 
he Avon the confidence and esteem of all. Early in tlie 
present century he found rest in the bosom of the beautiful 
'>ome where he had been so honored, admired and trusted. 



23 

Of Dr. George Jones, — the father of our friend, — I may 
not speak, for there are those within the compass of my 
voice who knew him in life and cherish his A'irtues now 
that he is gone. 

Thus does it appear that Mr. DeHenne was the legit- 
imate inheritor, in the fourth generation, of illustrious 
traditions and of memories personal and })recious con- 
nected with the history and honor of Georgia. With 
him they were family legacies. He accepted them as 
such, and the allegiance which bound him to home and 
State was inseparable from the ties which united liiui 
to kindred and lineage. They were indissolubly inter- 
woven, and whenever the name of Georgia was uttered, 
there came heart throbs of loyalty and pride most pecu- 
liar and pleasurable. 

The first eleven years of his life, — that tender period 
when impressions the most abiding are formed,— Avhen 
loves are cemented which the vicissitudes of sub- 
sequent age cannot impair, — that morning of existence 
whose sunlight fades not from memory, — were passed at 
Wormsloe on the Isle of Hope, the abode of his ances- 
tors. There in infancy were his loves of Georgia begot- 
ten. There was his knowledge of home and country 
localized. There were attachments born which remained 
ever part and parcel of his inner being. 

When not yet twelve years old, upon the death of his 
father, he accompanied his mother to Philadelphia. 
There he pursued his academic studies and was, in due 
course, admitted as a member of the Collegiate Depart- 
ment of the University of Pennsylvania. His proficiency 
in the acquisition of knowledge, and his intellectual 
capabilities attracted the notice and evoked the commen- 
dation of his teachers. It was natural that he should 



24 

seek an education in that city and from that institution, 
for both were allied to him by ties of no ordinary 
significance. His maternal grand-father, — Justice Thomas 
Smith, — had been for many years a prominent hiAvyer 
and a distinguished Judge in Philadelphia, and his mater- 
nal great uncle, — the Reverend William Smith, D. D., — 
was the first provost of the institution now known as 
the University of Pennsylvania. He was a noted teacher, 
an accomplished writer, and an eloqiient divine. A 
native of Scotland and a graduate of the University of 
Aberdeen, shortly after his removal to America he 
identified himself with all that was progressive and of 
high repute in the City of Brotherly Love. After a 
long life spent in rendering important service to the liter- 
ary, educational, and religious interests of this country, 
he died in the city of his adoption on the 14th of May, 
1803. His scholarly works and the institution he founded 
are living monuments to his memory. 

In his maternal home, and upon the benches whence 
had gone forth many who had been instrncted by his 
distinguished relative, Mr. DeRenne found op]iortunity for 
earnest study. Graduating with honor, and selecting medi- 
cine as the profession best suited to his tastes, he be- 
came a private pupil of the famous Dr. -Samuel Jackson 
and entered the Medical School of the University of 
Pennsylvania. This College was, at that time, probably 
the most noted in the United States, and the facilities 
there afforded lor mastering the mysteries of the Healing 
Art were unsurpassed this side the Atlantic. Mr. De 
Renne's graduating thesis was entitled a " Theory c07i- 
cerning the Nature of Insanity.'''' It was, in 1847, privately 
printed, to the number of forty-eight copies, for special 
distribution. Striking in thought and composition is this 



25 

production, indicating an amount of careful research, deli- 
cate analysis, and philosophical deduction quite uncommon 
in one who had barely attained unto his majority. It 
elicited the praise of his preceptors who earnestly hoped 
that his talents and acquirements would be consecrated to 
the practice of a calling which sweeps in its high scope 
the whole range of physical and moral science. But 
with Mr. DeRenne there was no intention of applying 
himself to the active pursuit of the profession to the 
privileges of which he had just been admitted as a 
Doctor of Medicine. His affections turned to his island 
home beneath the Georgia magnolias, and his thoughts 
ware of a quiet, independent life devoted to the exhi- 
bition of hospitality, the pursuit of literature, and the 
enjoyment of dignified repose. 

Shortly after graduation he repaired to AVorinsloe and 
there fixed his residence. With all its wealth of mag- 
nificent live-oaks, palmettoes, pines, cedars, and magno- 
lias, with its quiet, gentle views, balmy airs, soft sunlight, 
swelling tides, inviting prospects, and cherished traditions, 
this attractive spot had uninterruptedly continued to be 
the home of his ancestors from the date of its original 
cession from the Crown to his great-grand-father Captain 
Noble Jones. Here were the remains of the tabby for- 
tificition which he had constructed for the protection of 
his plantation, — then an outpost to the town of Savan- 
nah, — and there, vine-covered and overshadowed by oaks 
and cedars, they will endure for unnumbered years, con- 
stituting one of the most unique and interesting histor- 
ical ruins on the Georgia coast. During his residence 
at this charming abode, which continued, with occasional 
absences, until the late war between the States, Mr. De 
Renne guarded this ancestral domain with the tender 



26 

care and devotion of a loyal son, adding to the recol- 
lections of the past literary and cultivated associations 
in the present which imparted new delights to the name 
of Worm sloe. 

In this youthful country so careless of and indifferent 
to the memories of former days, so ignorant of the value 
of monuments and tlie impressive lessons of antiquity, — 
where no law of primogeniture encourages in the son 
the conservation of the abode and the heirlooms of his 
father, — where new fields, cheap lands, and novel enter- 
prises at remote points are luring the loves of succeed- 
ing generations from the gardens which delighted, the 
hoary oaks which sheltered, and the fertile fields which 
nourished their ancestors, — where paternal estates, — ex- 
posed at public and private sale, — are placed at the 
mercy of speculative strangers,— where ancestral graves 
too often lie neglected, and residences, once noted for 
rafinement, intelligence, virtue, and hospitality, lose their 
identity in the ownership of aliens, — it was a beautiful 
sight — this preservation of the old home-stead, this filial 
devotion to tree and ruin and tradition, this main- 
tenance around the ancient hearth-stone of cultured mem- 
ories and inherited civilization. Love of home and kin- 
dred and State lay at the root of it all, and this senti- 
ment, than which none more potent resides in the human 
breast, none more efficient for the honorable perpetua- 
tion of family and nation, found fullest lodgment in the 
heart of our friend. 

His carefully selected library contained works of high 
repute, and of great rarity in certain departments. His 
reading was varied and accurate. Communing often with 
his favorite authors, he maintained an active acquaint- 
ance with the ever expanding domain of scientific and 



27 

philosophical inquiiy. His liberal education, enriched by 
study, travel, and observation, enabled him to appreciate 
and cultivate those standards in literature and art which 
give birth to the accurate scholar and the capable critic. 

To familiarize himself with the history of Georgia and 
rescue her traditions from forgetfulness were ever his 
pleasure and pride. During his sojourns in London he 
obtained favored access to the records in the various 
public offices and to the treasures of the British Museum. 
Tlience did he procure copies of all papers throwing ligifc 
upon the early life of the Colony. We have no hesita- 
tion in expressing the opinion that in a thorough acquaint- 
ance with the history of Savannah, and of Georgia, — 
both as a Colony and a State, — he was excelled by none. 
Often have we hoped that he would have undertaken a 
general liistory of our State ; and more than once did we 
commend the suggestion to his favorable consideration. 
Such a work, from his capable pen, composed in that spirit 
of truth and characterized by that patient research and 
philosophical analysis of men and events which distin- 
guished all his investigations, would have proved a standard 
authority. Unfortunately however, he has been called 
hence in the vigor of his matured manhood, and in this 
anticipation we may no longer indulge. 

During his residence on the Isle of Hope the literary 
tastes of Mr. DeRsnne found expression in the following 
publications, — with one exception bearing the imprint of 
"Wormsloe,— and executed in the highest style of the 
printer's art. 

In 1847 he reprinted the rare and valuable political 
tract by George Walton, William Few, and Richard Howley, 
entitled " Observations upon the effects of certain late 2MUtical 
suijfjestions, by the Delegates of Georgia.'' 



28 

Two years afterward appeared his caustic " Ohservaiions 
on Dr. Stevem H'n^iory of Georgia.'''' 

In 184i) was issued the second of the Wormsh:»e Quartos, 
entitled "History of the Province of Georgii, toifh Mops of 
Original Surveys; by John Gerar William DeBrahm, His 
3Taj^stys Surveyor General for the Southern District of 
North America.'" This was a most valuable publication. 
DeBrahni's manuscript, from which the portion relating 
to Georgia was thus printed, exists in the Library of 
Harvard University, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. 
Dellenne did for Georgia what Mr. Weston had accom- 
plished for South Carolina. 

The following year, in the third of the Wormsloe Quartos, 
were presented the interesting " Journal and Letters of 
Eliza Lucas,'''' — the mother of Generals Charles Cotesworth 
and Thomas Pinckney. 

So charmed was Mr. DeRenne with " A Bachelor s 
Reverie, in three parts: L. Smoke, •'dignifying Donht ; 11. 
Blaze, signifying C heer : III. Ashes, signifying Desolation: hy 
Ik. Marvel^' that in 1850, by permission of and as a 
compliment to the gentle Author, he had a beautiful 
edition of twelve copies privately printed. 

In 1851 Mr. DeRenne published, as his fourth Worms- 
loe Quarto, the Diary of Colonel Winthrop Sargent, Adjh~ 
tant General of the United States Army during the Cam 
paign of 1791. Only such portion of the Diary wat 
printed as related to St. Clair's expedition. 

Of these Quartos but a very limited edition was printed, 
and the copies were donated to famous libraries and 
placed in the hands of favored frieuds. Of the first 
quarto there are only twenty-one copies ; of the second, 
forty-nine ; of the third, nineteen ; and of the fourth, 
forty-six. They are all admirable specimens of typogra- 



29 

pliy and literary taste ; and, in addition to the historical 
value they possess, are highly esteemed because of their 
rarity. 

Soon after the inception of the late War Mr, DeKenne 
transferred his residence from Wormsloe to the City of 
Savannah. The desolations consequent upon the failure 
of the Confederate Cause pressed sorely upon the coast 
region of our State, sadly altering the conveniences of life, 
changing the whole theory of our patriarchal civilization, 
and begetting isolation and solitude where formerly existed 
inviting mansions, — -the centres of sympathies and social 
life which, in their essential charactei-istics, can, I fear me, 
never be revived. 

His residence in Savannah,— the abode of the choicest 
hospitality, within whose walls dwelt comfort, refinement, 
and elegance most attractive,— could never in his affections 
supplant the loves he cherished for the old homestead on 
the Isle of Hope. During the Winter and Spring, one day in 
each week did he dedicate to the sweet influences of Worms- 
loe where, — secluded from the turmoil of busy life, — he sur- 
rendered himself to the contemplation of scenes and the 
revivification of memories upon which time had placed its 
seal of consecration. 

In further illustration of the liberality of our deceased 
friend toward this Society, it should be mentioned that he 
bore the entire charge of the publication of the fourth 
volume of its Collections. 

That volume, printed in 1878, embraces a HiMory of the 
Dead Toions of Georgia: — 'villages and plantations once vital 
and influential within our borders, but now covered with the 
mantle of decay, without succession, and silent amid the 
voices of the present. That work I had dedicated to Mr. 
DeRenne, I was on the eve of placing the manuscript in 



30 

the printer's hands when he proposed that I should present 
it to the Georgia Historical Society, and that he would de- 
fray the expense of the publication. The suggestion met 
Avith the gracious assent of the Society, and the volume was 
enlarged by the " Itinerant Observations in America," 
reprinted from the pages of the London Magazine. 

Of the public spirit which characterized Mr. DeRenne 
as a citizen of Savannah, — the public spirit of a high- 
toned, independent gentleman solicitous for the general 
welfare, yet courting neither personal advantage nor politi- 
cal preferment, — of the sterling qualities which he exhib- 
ited in the business affairs of life and in the adminis- 
tration of his ample fortune, — of the active and intelli- 
gent interest he manifested in everything promotive of 
the material and intellectual progress, the ornamentation 
and the civilization of this Citj', — of his many charities, 
unheralded at the times of their dispensation, I may not 
speak. They are fresh in the recollection of us all. 
Were he here, he would tolerate no eulogium, and now 
that he is dead, as his friend I will do no violence to 
his known wishes. 

I cannot refrain however, from reminding you of two 
princely gifts whicli will identify his memory with Savan- 
nah so long as human structures endure. I refer to his 
munificent donation of a commodious and substantial 
building on West Broad Street to be used as a Public 
School for the education of the children of citizens of Afri- 
can descent, and to his presentation, to the Ladies' Memo- 
rial Association, of that admirable Bronze Statue of a 
Confederate Soldier which surmounts the Monument erected 
by fair hands in the Military Parade of Savannah in 
honor of our Confederate Dead. 

Listen to the offer and the acceptance of that noble 
gift: 



31 

"A meeting of the Ladies' Memorial Association Avas 
held June 3rd, 1879, at 6 o'clock, at the Lecture Eoora 
of the Independent Presbyterian Church, when, after the 
transaction of the usual routine business, the following 
communication from Mr. G. W. J. DeEenne was sub- 
mitted by the President and ordered to be read : 

Savaknah, May 21, 1879. 
The President of the Ladies Memorial Associcdion, Savannah : 

Madam — In pursuance of the proposition made and 
accepted in April of last year, I now present to the Ladies' 
Memorial Association a bronze statue of a Confederate 
Soldier. 

It represents him as he was, — marked with the marks 
of service in features, form, and raiment ; — a man who 
chose rather to be than to seem, to bear hardship than 
to complain of it ; — a man who met with unflinching 
firmness the fate decreed him, to suffer, to fight, and to 
die in vain. 

I ofier the Statue as a tribute to the " Men " of the 
Confederate Army. Without name or fame, or hope of 
gain they did the duty appointed them to do. Now, — 
their last fight fought, their suffering over, — they lie in 
scattered graves throughout our wide Southern land, at 
rest at last, returned to the bosom of the loved Mother 
they valiantly strove to defend. 

According to j^our faith, believe that they may receive 
their reward in the World to come : — they had none on 
earth. 

With the expression of my profound respect for those 
women of the South avIio, true to the dead, have sought 
to save their memory from perishing, I am, Madam, 
Yery respectfully, etc., 

G. W. J. DeRENNE. 



32 

The following resolutions were then offered and unan- 
inion.sly adopted by a rising vote : 

Whereas our fellow-citizen, G. W. J. DeEenne, has 
presented to this Association the bronze statue of a 
Confederate Soldier now crowning the Monument erected 
in the Military Parade of this City to the memory of 
the soldiers who perished for the Cause they held more 
precious than life ; 

Therefore, Resolved that we, the members of this 
Association, individually and as a body, do hereby unau- 
imoush^ express our grateful appreciation of this noble 
gift ; recognizing its great merit not only as a work of 
art, but as a signal ornament to our beloved City, and 
as a valued contribution to the public sentiment worthy 
of the munificent and solemn purpose of the donor. 

Eesolved that we do hereby accept this tribute with 
profound gratitude, and, in the name of all who are 
true to these heroic dead, we reverently consecrate it 
to the memory of the Soldiers of the Confederate Army 
who "went down in silence." 

Resolved that two copies of these proceedings be signed 
by each of the Officers of this Association ; — one copy 
to be presented to G. W. J. DeRenne, Esq., the other 
to the Georgia Historical Society, with the recpiest that 
it may be placed for preservation in the Archives of 
the Society. 

HENRIETTA COHEN, Prcsuhnt. 
S. C. WILLIAMSON, Treasurer. 

S. C. MANN, Secretary:' 

Thus are the name, the generosity, and the patriotism 
of our departed friend indissolubly linked with the holiest 



33 

monument erected within the contiues of this Monumen- 
tal City : — a monuinent redolent of the praj^ers, the loves, 
and the tears of mother, wife, sister, daughter ; — a monu- 
ment crystaHzing in towering and symmetrical form the 
memories of the Confederate struggle for independence ; — 
a monument standing as a spotless, imperishable, just 
tribute to our Confederate Dead. To the Cause which 
it symbolizes and the heroes who perished in its sup- 
port, time can bring no shadow, nor envious years oblivion. 
The thirty-seventh Anniversary of our Society we mark 
with our whitest stone for on that occasion, amid appro- 
priate ceremonies and eloquent utterances, was formal 
possession delivered, at the hands of General Alexander 
R. Lawton, — the donor's trustee, —of this Hall, the home 
of our institution. Our hearts overflow with gratitude 
to the noble Sisters whose charities have filled our City 
with gladness and placed this Institution upon a van- 
tage ground the like of which exists not Avithin the 
compass of these Southern States. Georgia has never 
known such charitable bequests as those which emanated 
from the clear heads and warm hearts of Miss Telfair 
and Mrs. Hodgson. They stand alone and without par- 
allel in the history of Georgia wills, and when the pend- 
ing litigation shall have been concluded in favor of these 
bequests, as thus it must be in the name of all that is 
just and equitable, no limit can be assigned to the 
benign and far-reaching benefits which will ensue from 
their judicious and enduring administration. Behold 
what they have done for us. See this well appointed 
Library-Room with its twelve thousand volumes. What 
Southern Historical Society can claim like apartments or 
offer such a well-spring of intellectual life? Secure in 
its foundation, enjoying the advantages of this commo- 



84 

dious abiding place, enriched with such literary treas- 
ures, and with a firm hold upon the affections of this 
commercial metropolis and Queen City of Georgia, who 
shall allot bounds to the enlightening influences which 
shall radiate from this Society and from this Library V 
"Give a man a taste for ' reading," says Sir John Her- 
schel, "and the means of gratifying it, and you can 
hardly fail of making him a happy man, unless, indeed, 
you put into his hands a most perverse selection of 
books. You place him in contact with the best society 
in every period in historj^ with the wisest, the wittiest, 
the tenderest, the bravest, and the purest characters 
who adorned humanity. You make him a denizen of 
all nations. — a contemporary of all ages. The world has 
been created for him." 

See to it. Gentlemen of the Georgia Historical Society, 
and Citizens of Savannah, that you generously give and 
wisely expend in the support and augmentation of this 
Library. It is an active, potent instrument of the highest 
civilization. 

Think too of the future which opens before this 
Society in the intelligent administration of that Charity 
which places under your charge the Telfair Mansion and 
furnishes you with competent means to there inaugurate 
and maintain an Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

It is the misfortune of this new country that we are. 
in large degree, ignorant of true art and almost totally 
wanting in everything which savors of antiquity. Our 
venerable monuments are biit the works of yesterday, 
and our thoughts are largely obedient to the exactions 
of a utilitarian civilization. We lack repose, we lack 
open-air gardens, we lack music, we lack art-galleries, 
we lack public libraries, we lack gymnasia, we lack 



35 

free temples of learning, and these are, in the main, 
the inheritances of age. We have no British Museum 
into whose lap the treasures of centuries have been 
poured ; — no Westminster i^bbe.y where the proudest memo- 
ries of a thousand years are perpetuated in choicest 
stone, — memories of king and knight and warrior, of 
statesman and jurist and philosopher, of metaphysician 
and poet and historian, of sculptor and painter and 
astronomer, of bishop, mathematician and inventor, of 
essayist, novelist, and humorist, — memories of all that is 
regal, valorous and enviable in England's history sym- 
bolized for the instruction and the emulation of the 
ages : — no National Gallei-y wherein are garnered up 
some of the loftiest achievements of the brush: — no 
South Kensington Museum where the eye is dazzled 
with art trophies gathered from the four corners of the 
Earth. All these and more our Mother England pos- 
sesses, and we, her best born, should emulate her exam- 
ple. Already has personal acquaintance with the galleries 
of the Old World and the marbles of a classic civiliza- 
tion engendered in this land a taste for and an appre- 
ciation of Art in its highest expressions. The increasing 
wealth and education of the present American generation 
are already vying with tlie riches and the taste of for- 
eign countries in securing objects of rare merit and 
historic value. Some of our private galleries are even 
now famous, and public institutions, at prominent points, 
are attracting to their ownership, in various departments 
of science and art, collections which will ere long become 
the envy of the civilized nations. A new era dawns 
upon us. 

We know not how great or how inviting this Telfair 
Academy of Arts and Sciences may become in the near 



36 

future, or what its treasures will be in the eons to come. 
It will prove a magnet in our midst around which will 
concentre all that is beautiful, instructive, and refining. 
Let us have a care that we admit nothing within its 
walls which Avill not bear the criticism of true art and 
merit the sanction of time, — nothing which does not 
possess genuine value and serve aptl}- to illustrate some 
department of knowledge. You iiia.j gather the 3'ellow 
oxides upon a thousiind hills. You must dig deep into 
the bowels of the rocks ere you find the pure gold. 

Above all, let this Academy illustrate Georgia, her 
arch;eology, her miuero.logy, her flora, her fauna, and 
exhibit everything which may tend in Art and Science 
to interpret her past, glorify her present, and minister 
to the grandeur of her future. In the development of 
this bequest we have a mission to execute of no little 
difficulty, and of surpassing importance. 

Remember also that publications of interesting contri- 
butions to the history of our State are the life and 
honor of this Society. By them we thrive and gain 
reputation. Thus do we augment our library and main- 
tain an enviable position among our sister institutions.- 
Although we have done much in reproducing scarce tracts 
descriptive of the foundation and early life of the Colony, 
somewhat remains to be accomplished in this regard. 
A reprint, for example, of the publications to which the 
expedition of General Oglethorpe against St. Augustine 
gave rise, would form an acceptable volume. There are 
narratives too, connected with our Revolutionary period, 
which should be diligently sought, collated, and made 
public. 

And then, what a wide field opens before us when 
we contemplate the surprizing fact that of the past 



37 

eighty years and more of her existence Georgia has no 
Avritten history. Even the materials for the compilation 
of such a work are uncollected and -wholly undigested. 
The conduct of our State affairs, — the development of 
our Judiciary system, — our religious, social and intellec- 
tual growth, — the sale of our Western Territory, — the 
part sustained in the war of 1812-15, — our Indian 
Affairs, — our complications with the General Government, — 
our participation in the Florida wars, — the rise of politi- 
cal parties and the heated contests which convulsed our 
Commonwealth, — our share in the honors won by the 
sword upon the fields of Mexico, — the glorious memories 
which Georgia bequeathed during the Confederate strug- 
gle for independence, — the dark days of reconstruction, — 
the adaptation of sj^stem and pursuits to the new order 
of things, — the expansion of our inhabited territory from 
a narrow domain clinging for protection to the Atlantic 
on the one hand, and the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha 
on the other, into its present august proportions, — the 
wonderful development of our agricultural, manufacturing? 
and industrial pursuits, — all these and more remain to 
be grouped, analyzed, and narrated. Then too, the lives 
and the acts of the good and the great who have made 
our State prosperous and happy at home and famous 
abroad, — statesmen, warriors, lawyers, physicians, divines, 
scholars, teachers, planters, manufacturers, — where are they? 
The sad and extraordinary fact stares us in the face that 
of Georgia, — as a State, — now more than a century old and 
occupying the front rank in the Southern sisterhood, 
we, her children, have literally no written history. 
Would 3'ou seek it? Get you then to the moth-eaten 
files of almost forgotten newspapers, — those invaluable 
chroniclers of passing events ; — address yourself to docu- 



38 

ments cribbed in the departments, four times silbjected 
to removal upon the changes of the seat of government, 
and once despoiled by Federal soldiery, — documents from 
many of which " time hatli eaten out the letters and 
the dust made a parenthesis betwixt every syllable ;" — 
search for ephemeral tracts, gazetteers, and partial collec- 
tions which, having responded to the requirement of the 
moment, have fallen into disuse and oblivion ; — sit you 
down at the feet of the aged and the honored whose 
recollection, at farthest, extends scarce fifty years into 
the gathering gloom of the past ; — glean thence the his- 
tory of Georgia as a State, if you can, for you will 
find it treasured no where else. 

In the language of one of Georgia's noblest sons,* 
"All sovereign peoples, who can review their past with 
honest pride, owe it to themselves, their ancestors, and 
their posterity to have made, from time to time, true 
and permanent historical records of their political exis- 
tence. Most, if not all of the original thirteen States 
of our Union, and many of their younger sisters, have 
recognized the importance of so doing, and have adopted 
measures to that end. Georgia, one of the original sis- 
terhood, now ranking for enterprise and progress among 
the foremost, may be said to have no condensed writ- 
ten history. Even the fragmentary efforts in that way 
are very far from reaching our own times, and, for 
general edification, are out of print. 

It is time, high time that our beloved State had awa- 
kened to this imperative duty. Time, the relentless de- 
stroyer of man's works and the records of them, is fast 
obliterating the materials of which such a work must 
needs be constructed. It has been too long delayed. 
* Ex-Governor Charles J. Jenkins. 



39 

Each year's further delay will be a superadded sin 
against Georgia." 

A desire for posthumous fame is natural to the edu- 
cated heart. That ambition is most laudable and refined 
which leads the great, the good, and the brave to hope 
that the remembrance of their services and achievements 
will survive and be historically perpetuated by the Nation 
in whose behalf they were expended and compassed, for 
its own reputation and for the emulation of its citizens. 
It is the solemn duty of the State to ordain and to 
provide that the memory of her distinguished sons and 
the recollection of events which have made her annals 
illustrious perish not amid the revolutions of years. 

Physical monuments crumble beneath the iconoclastic 
touch of time, but the printed page remains well nigh 
immortal. You will search in vain for the Thermopylae 
of the bygone century, but the story of the brave Leon- 
idas and his associates abides unchanged. With Livy in 
your hand you may not now locate the field of Canna?, 
and yet in the pages of that historian you will still 
mark the conquering Carthagenians overthrowing the 
Roman Consuls and slaying their bejeweled followers 
until the " Aufidus ran blood." * Yes, to true History 
belongs a duration which outlives empires and outwears 
the hardest marble. 

It has been well said that the most substantial glory 
of a country concentres about her great and virtuous 
sons. Her prosf)erity and dignity will largely depend 
upon the loyalty with which succeeding generations per- 
petuate the remembrance of their acts and examples, 
and the docility with which they obey their exalted pre- 
cepts. Power and wealth are mutable. They pass away 

*See Everett's oration on The Bunlcer-HUl Monument. 



40 

leaving only ruins which are a mockery. But the phi- 
losophy of great events and the influence of splendid 
examples, once properly interpreted and recorded, are as 
eternal as truth. 

Gentlemen of the Georgia Historical Society, in the 
hurried retrospect we have taken of the life of this 
Institution we find cause for sincere congratulation and 
hope the most Hattering. The future expands before us : 
the materials of history multiply with each decade ; and 
our succession is perpetual. We have fairly recovered 
from the desolations wrought by war. Prosperity is 
measurably ours. You have been the recipients of gra- 
cious charities which lift you above every anxiety, and 
enable you to compass with greater ease than ever the 
objects for which you are associated. 

In the name of all who love the prosperity of Geor- 
gia and earnestly desire her moral and intellectual 
advancement, I salute you upon this your forty-second 
anniversary and bid you good speed in your useful and 
refining labors. 

In the whole range of pleasurable occupations few, if 
any, can be more engaging than the collection, arrange- 
ment, and conservation of the historical memories of the 
Commonwealth whose sons we are, and whose good name 
and fair fame are as dear to us as the ruddy drops 
which vitalize our loval hearts. 



'""^'Va'^ 



